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Kurtis Larson, QMI Agency

An MLS club hasn’t topped Mexican opposition in a home-and-away series since the 2002 Champions’ Cup — the tournament that preceded the current CONCACAF competition that was restructured in 2008.

Since Kansas City dropped Santos Laguna 3-2 in the tournament’s quarterfinal a decade ago, MLS teams have lost 10 consecutive home-and-away matchups against Mexican sides — the last being the Seattle Sounders getting blown out by Santos earlier this month.

“We’ve been in contact with Seattle,” Toronto FC assistant coach Bob de Klerk said ahead of Wednesday night’s Champions League semifinal against Santos Laguna at BMO Field. “We asked how they played against (Santos) and what their experience was.”

Without knowing Seattle’s response, the Reds will surely do the opposite. The Sounders were humiliated in the return leg when the Mexicans blew the series wide open with a commanding 6-1 performance in Torreon to book a spot in the last four.

And with TFC coming off one of its worst performances in recent memory, there’s concern as to whether Toronto’s rattled back line can hold a club that unlocked a quality Seattle side at will.

“We’ll try to make it very compact because we play open and wide,” said de Klerk, when asked what TFC will do to fix its issues at the back. “We have to be compact when we don’t have the ball. We know that and have to be sharp for the second ball.”

Despite allowing six goals in two league matches, staff insisted the club’s defensive shape has nothing to do with the number of goals Toronto has conceded through four matches.

Tuesday’s training suggested TFC will go with the same back four with Julian de Guzman and Terry Dunfield holding once again. Although there will likely be changes up front, all things point to the Reds absorbing a clinical Santos attack in an effort to keep an all-important clean sheet in the first leg.

“We have to (defend) in pairs when everyone is stepping up and we need to go as a unit,” Richard Eckersley said. “It’s going to be a tough place to go when we go to Mexico (next week) so obviously this game is massive to keep a shutout.”

With Santos scoring 20 goals in its last six Champions League fixtures, denying two of the tournament’s top scorers — Oribe Peralta and Cristian Suarez — slots in the box score will take an enormous TFC effort. Along with U.S. international Herculez Gomez, the Reds won’t face a more dangerous club on the counter that’s capable of punishing the slightest of errors.

Each of Santos Laguna’s four second-half goals in its quarterfinal with Seattle came on the counter against an uncharacteristically clumsy Sounders back four — similar to how the Reds conceded three to San Jose on the weekend.

“(We’ll) drop the line a little bit,” Ryan Johnson said of what Toronto is changing ahead of Wednesday’s match. “Get more numbers behind the ball and capitalize on the counter-attack instead of keeping so many guys high.”

In addition to altering the club’s defensive mindset, de Klerk stressed the importance of starting the match with more energy than it did Saturday, specifically in the middle and defensive thirds.

“(We) gave too much space away (Saturday),” de Klerk said after running Tuesday’s session in head coach Aron Winter’s absence. “If you let the opponent turn and face goal it’s a big difference.”

While TFC’s weekend performance left many without hope ahead of a crucial opening leg in Toronto, the Reds dropped a similar 3-0 league result to Chivas last September before bouncing back with a hard-fought draw against Pumas in the Champions League group stage.

Anything less than a similar performance will see the aggregate series finished after 90 minutes in Toronto.

MARQUEE MATCHUP

Danny Koevermans vs. Felipe Baloy

The Dutchman bungled a good chance to open his account against San Jose on Saturday, moving his goal-scoring drought to four games in all competition. Koevermans struggled to get touches with San Jose’s Victor Bernardez close by Saturday and completed just five passes in 45 minutes of work. With Panamanian Felipe Baloy — a similar player to the Earthquake’s Honduran centre back — organizing Santos Laguna’s defence, Toronto’s target will go to war with one of the best central defenders in CONCACAF. Good in the air, powerful and a proven ball winner, Baloy will make Koevermans work to get touches in and around the penalty area — something the club desperately needs from its most expensive attacker.

TFC KEYS

CLEAN SHEET

Santos Laguna has been shutout just once in the competition — a 2-0 loss to Isidro Metapan in El Salvador during the group stage. Much like it did against L.A., expect Toronto to stay compact early and look for its moments to break. Conceding a goal or more significantly reduces TFC’s chances at progression.

CARD ACCUMULATION

Migueal Aceval, Richard Eckersley and Danny Koevermans are in jeopardy of missing the second leg if any of them are carded in this match. With Torsten Frings out injured, losing any of the above would be a massive blow to the club’s chances of getting a result on the road.

QUICK HITS

* Toronto owns a 1-1-2 record against Mexican opposition, including a 2-1 historic win and a road draw against Cruz Azul in 2010.

* Santos Luguna embarrassed the Seattle Sounders in the Champions League quarterfinals 7-3 on aggregate. After managing a 2-1 win at CenturyLink Field, Seattle was on the wrong end of a 6-1 thrashing in Torreon. The Mexicans are far better at home.

* Due to yellow card accumulation, Santos Laguna’s Juan Rodriguez will miss the match — a big loss in the club’s central midfield.